Congressional voting for citizens living outside of Colombia began on Monday and will continue until Sunday.
A total of 214 polling stations have been distributed in 63 countries around the world in order to facilitate congressional voting for expatriate Colombians. Those eligible will have until Sunday 9 to register their vote for both Congress and the Andean Parliament.
MORE : More than 530K Colombian expatriates eligible to vote in upcoming election
Of the 214 polling stations available worldwide, 110 will function throughout the week and the remaining 104 will only open on Sunday 9. The polling stations will be located within consulates and embassies and will enable citizens to vote from 8 am until 4 pm local time.
By law, voting by citizens living outside of Colombia must take place in the week before the official in-country voting in order to ensure ample time to collect and collate votes.
However there has been question as to the threat of fraud from these polling stations. In February, Elsa Gladys, Colombian Consul in New York City, came under suspicion of political bias and proselytizing for certain candidates in the upcoming election after news spread of her actions on social networking sites. The Ministry of Foreign Relations is currently working to verify the claims.
In an attempt to ensure transparency and stop fraud during the process, the voting overseers must send daily vote figures to Bogota.
Sources
- Se abrieron las urnas en el exterior para que colombianos voten (El Espectador)